Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in photography but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mira Zaki, Founder of Mira Zaki Photography LLC., located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is a photography company based in NYC that serves customers both in the USA and worldwide (thanks, technology!) I'm on a mission to elevate and empower womxn, to tell their unique, compelling stories, and to have a positive impact on the world through photography as storytelling. I have run Mira Zaki Photography, my own full-time photography business in NYC, since 2007. I started out photographing events and building a name for myself in my new home. I now have a strong professional network of colleagues and clients, have been published in the New York Times, and worked with The James Beard Foundation. My professional focus is food, travel, lifestyle, stock, and portrait photography. My passion goals are to create projects chronicling race, culture, and food as storytelling tools. My customers are everyone from the government, to the individual, to businesses small and large.
Tell us about yourself
I was born into an Egyptian-American family, which gave me a different perspective than everyone around me, and it became my life's mission to capture and celebrate diversity while elevating our shared human experience. Photography is how I tell stories: stories of culture, people, places, politics, and power.
I am lucky to have turned telling these stories into a business. I started taking photos at eight years old when I first picked up a Polaroid camera and felt the magic of photography. I haven't looked back since. I decided to continue my training and education by studying photography my entire life- including at Brooks Institute of Photography, where I got a B.A. in Commercial Advertising Photography. Photography is my never-ending muse and true joy; there's always a way to create a new story- and I fall more in love with my craft each day- I don't need anything else to motivate me!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Never giving up!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Being resilient on a daily basis- learning how to flow with the changes both in yourself and the world.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Connect with your local community, get help (there's so much free support out there), and always remember your why.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Make sure you take the time to do what you love in the world!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.mirazaki.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiraZakiPhotography/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirazakiphoto/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mirazakiphoto
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirazaki/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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